Apparatus for curing tobacco



Patented Aug. 17,1880.

F SGHWARB Apparatus for Curing Tobacco.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK SGHWARB, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

APPARATUS FOR CURING TOBACCO,

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 231,363, dated August 17, 1880,

Application filed February 3, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK SCHWARB, of Cincinnati, Hamilton county, Ohio, have invented a new and useful Apparatus for Curing Tobacco, of which the following is a specification. 7.

The object of my invention is to provide an apparatus that will cure tobacco in a rapid, thorough, and uniform manner, and without subjecting it to the injurious contact of steam or hot air or other drying vapors.

This result is accomplished by simply placing the tobacco in a closed receiver, which receptacle is then deposited in a "essel suitably charged with hot water, said vessel being sur rounded on all sides and at bottom with a jacket containing hot water or steam. The water within the intermediate vessel is not allowed to reach as high as the top of the receiver proper, and consequently the tobacco contained in the latter is not exposed to direct contact either with the hot water or with the steam arising therefrom. As a result of this procedure the tobacco so cured is of uniform color, and is freed from all rank and disagreeable flavors.

In the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is an axial section of the more complex form of my apparatus, the upper portion of the tobaccoreceiver being shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is an elevation of a modified form of the receiver, the lid thereofbein g removed. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of a portion of the apparatus.

The receiver A, which is preferably a cylinder, is closed at top with a snugly-fitting lid, B, and has two handles, 0 G, wherewith said receiver can be managed with the greatest facility. As the closed bottom of this receiver must not come in contact with the floor of the intermediate or hot-water vessel or chamber, H, said. receiver is therefore provided with feet D; or, if preferred, suitable holes, E, may be arranged, as shown in Fig. 2, to permit a free circulation of water below said bottom; or the same result may be accomplished by seating the receiver 011 a flanged ring, F, attached to the inside of hot-water chamber by radial arms G, as seen in Fig.3; or the receiver may be suspended by engaging its han 5o dles 0 G with books projecting inwardly from 'lid' B of said receiver.

the aforesaid hotwater chamber H, which chamber is preferably cylindrical, of somewhat greater diameter than the receiver A, and is furnished with a lid, I.

J is a supply-pipe, K a drain-pipe, and L a water-gage, of this intermediate chamber, H. Surrounding this chamber on all sides and at bottom is a jacket, M, containing either hot water or steam, said jacket being charged through the pipe N and drained by means of a pipe, 0. P is the water-gage of this jacket, and R is a safety-valve to the same. Jacket M has an annular flange, S, which enables the apparatus to rest securely upon a stove or furnace, T, or other heating appliance.

The above is a description of the more complex form of my apparatus as made for usein large tobacco-factories; but when it is desired to cure a comparatively limited quantity of the article the pipes K J N O, gages L P, and valve B may be omitted,and the vessels H M can be charged and emptied at the top, as they can be handled with the utmost facility when constructed on a small scale.

My apparatus is used as follows: Receiver A is first filled with tobacco, which is either thrown in loosely or in suitable bundles or pats, and this charged receiver is then placed in the chamber H, the latter being supplied with water that must not reach as high as the Fire is then started in the furnace T, and is kept up from eight to ten hours, according to the condition of the tobacco and the quantity to be cured. Evidently the heat of this furnace can be imparted to the tobacco only as it is transmitted through the water contained in chamber H and jacket M, and therefore the temperature of receiver A cannot be raised so high as to burn or injure the contents of the same. In addition to this advantage, all rank and unpleasant emanations from the tobacco pass off from the receiver A in the form of a vapor, which vapor is conducted away from the apparatus by the steam arising from the hot water in chamber H,whose lid I is loose enough to permit such a free escape of steam, vapor, &c. When thus cured the tobacco, after removal from receiver A, will be found to be of a uniform rich dark color, and entirely free from any rank or other disagreeable taste or odor. Subsequently the cured tobacco can be treated in any desired manner.

of an outerjacket, M, intermediate vessel, H, and inner receiver, A, which latter is closed at bottom and provided at top with a detachable lid, B, as and for the purpose herein de- 10 scribed.

I claim as my invention- 1. A tobacco-curing apparatus consisting FRANK SOBWARP.

Witnesses JAMES H. LAYMAN,

2. In combination with the outer jacket, M, J. F. TWoHIG. 

